Our Team

Having a great guide can truly make a new place come alive. Our talented team of guides (including sommeliers, educators, and chefs) are excellent storytellers, passionate foodies, wine and craft beer lovers, and local ambassadors who are dedicated to helping you discover Hungary. We are forever learning new things from them, and we are sure you will enjoy their company and their wealth of knowledge about local history, food, and wine.

Gábor

Co-founder

Gábor grew up in northwestern Hungary, and started traveling as soon as he could—exploring France, studying in Spain, working on a ship in the Caribbean, and tending bar and waiting on tables in New York. When he returned to Hungary, he again fell in love with his native cuisine and the emerging quality wine scene. He holds a Master’s Degree in Spanish linguistics and literature, and was a translator and interpreter in his previous career. He holds a Level 3 WSET certification, and takes every chance he can get to travel to different wine regions. He is an avid runner, and he is at work on a research project involving the Jewish history of Tokaj. Gábor is committed to increasing the profile of wine tourism in Hungary (and the larger region) and has spoken about entrepreneurism, wine tourism, and Hungarian food and wine to audiences including the Zingerman’sDigital Wine Communications Conference, the Rotary Club, the Balassi Institute, the Bor, mámor, Bénye Festival, the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d’Angers, and the International Wine Tourism Conference. He is also a proud member of the Confrérie de Tokaj (the Tokaj Wine Guild).

Read Gábor’s Blog Posts

Must Do
Walk around aimlessly in district 8

Local Secret
Old maps and book on Múzeum körút; Gulyás at Polo Pub

Favorite Eat
Mákos rétes, aranygaluska, poppy seed ice cream

Best Drink
Dry Szamorodni, aszú, Furmint, Zwack Maximilian

Carolyn

Co-founder

Carolyn is the author of the culinary guidebooks Food Wine Budapest (Little Bookroom) and the Food and Wine Lover’s Guide to Hungary: With Budapest Restaurants and Trips to the Wine Country (Park Kiadó). After spending years researching and writing her culinary guidebooks, Carolyn and Gábor founded Taste Hungary in 2008 with the intention of sharing their passion for Hungarian food and wine with like-minded travelers who seek to experience the region’s authentic flavors and experiences. Carolyn has also written for dozens of international magazines and newspapers including Saveur, National Geographic, Explore Parts UnknownAfarCNN.comFrommer’sGourmetGastronomicaOlive, and The Globe & Mail. Carolyn studied journalism at NYU, holds a culinary school degree, and is working on her WSET Diploma. She is a member of the Global Food Tourism Association and the Confrérie de Tokaj (the Tokaj Wine Guild). She has been a wine judge at Vinagora. Her latest passion is learning about cheese, and discovering the artisan cheesemakers of Hungary to serve their cheeses at The Tasting Table and sell at the wine shop. In an effort to dig deeper into the world of cheese, she completed the Artisan Cheese & Sensory Fundamentals Certificate from The University of Vermont. Carolyn is a mom of three, and she never tires of exploring Budapest, traveling to wine regions of the world, and dreaming up new food tours. She is also the editor of Taste Hungary’s blog.

Read Carolyn’s Blog Posts

Must Do
Lehel Market; Kerepesi Cemetery; hiking in Buda hills

Local Secret
Lunch at an étkezde

Favorite Eat
Lecsó and Rákóczi túrós

Best Drink
Volcanic whites from Tokaj, Balaton, and Somló

Celina

Tasting Table Assistant

Celina hails from a small village in Bacau county, Romania. It is located in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, within the historical region of Moldavia. She worked as a seamstress for years before moving to Hungary with her family in 2006. She quickly learned Hungarian while working in the Lehel market in District 13. Since joining Taste Hungary in 2014, Celina has become an indispensable part of the Tasting Table team acting as assistant to the sommeliers and sous chef. She is a devoted mother to her two young daughters and spends her free time taking them on excursions around the city.

Must Do
Children’s Railroad

Local Secret
Tropicarium and Palace of Wonders

Favorite Eat
Stuffed Cabbage … Romanian style!

Best Drink
Sweet Tokaji Aszú

Robert

Wine Ambassador & Writer

Robert is a Budapest-based wine journalist, writer, communicator and translator. He is the author of Hungarian Wine: A Tasting Trip to the New Old World (Blue Guides, 2015). He has been covering wine for more than 15 years and writes on Hungarian and international wine for the Budapest Business Journal (BBJ), Winesofa.eu, VinCE Magazin, Wine Pleasures, and Wine Paths, among others. He is also the deputy editor of the Circle of Wine Writer’s The Circular. Robert also edited David Copp’s Hungary: Its Fine Wines and Winemakers and contributed to the same author’s Tokaj: A Companion for the Bibulous TravellerHe holds the WSET Diploma and Advanced certificates from London’s Wine and Spirit Education Trust. He regularly judges at Hungarian and international competitions, translates wine text from Hungarian to English. Rob guides wine tours for Taste Hungary, runs tastings at The Tasting Table, and writes tasting notes for our wines.

Must Do
Food shopping at local markets

Local Secret
Drink wine at Kadarka bárka beach bar on Margaret Island

Favorite Eat
A creative and great value lunch at the hole-in-the-wall FindFiid

Best Drink
Wine, of course, though increasingly also craft beer

Angela

Culinary Ambassador

Angela was born in a small town in Transcarpathia (a region which was part of Hungary until the end of World War Two) to a Hungarian mother and Ukrainian father. She always dreamt of living in a big city, and moved to Budapest after completing her university studies. She has been in love with Budapest ever since. Angela is passionate about Hungarian wine, and has a WSET level 2 certificate. Angela has been a keen book-lover all her life, with an insatiable interest in the diverse culture, history, and architecture of the “Paris of the East.” When she strolls along the streets of Budapest, she has her head up admiring the beautiful facades of the buildings. After having spent many years working for international companies, Angela decided to follow her true calling, tour guiding. She leads food and wine tours, and occasionally holds wine tastings at The Tasting Table. In her spare time Angela likes to bike in City Park and swim in the Széchenyi thermal bath complex.

Must Do
Széchenyi Bathhouse

Local Secret
Bedő House Café and Museum of Hungarian Art Nouveau

Favorite Eat
Lecsó with eggs, mangalica sausages, bread, and Kadarka

Best Drink
Furmint

Barbara

Culinary Ambassador

Barbara is a Budapest native whose preferred mode of transportation is her bicycle. Her passion for food led her to the College of Catering and Hotel Management in Budapest. She has spent time living in Italy, and fully immersed herself into the culture thereby working in restaurants and bars. She did not at all mind the research that it took to write her thesis on Italian gastronomy! When she is not leading our walking tours, Barbara can also be found guiding tours by bike, or sitting in cafés writing restaurant reviews for a local web site.

Must Do
River cruise in the evening; walking around Matthias Church

Local Secret
Picnicking on Margaret Island

Favorite Eat
My dad’s cooking!

Best Drink
Elderflower fröccs (summer); tobacco caffé at Frei Café (winter)

György

Culinary Ambassador

György has a passion for fine wines, good food and great adventure travel. He is rooted in many (culinary) cultures, as was born in China, and grew up in Japan, Australia, and Hungary. His Chinese mother learned to make perfect Hungarian meals, which are still remembered many decades after enjoying them. For György fusion (but not confusion!) cuisine is not a matter of new wave fashion, but the tradition that he received at home. He is experienced in travel and hospitality, and is also a seasoned storyteller. He has spent several years preparing official state and diplomatic events and functions. When not leading tours, he is researching Jewish traditions and social and family history in Hungary.

Must Do
Central Market, the Opera, Music Conservatory, Eger, Kőszeg

Local Secret
Gettó Gulyás, Somló, Egerszalok spa

Favorite Eat
Macok, Platan, Rokusfalvi, Arany Kaviár, Bock Étterem

Best Drink
Somló wines, palinka, aszú

Orsi

Culinary Ambassador

Orsi was born in Budapest, but has traveled (and lived) around the world. She lived in Moscow for two years as a child (at the time of the Soviet Union), and also in Guatemala and Spain (where she worked in bars, restaurants, and art). Orsi has been working as a tour guide for four years and loves showing Hungary to anyone comes to explore it. Her interests are wide-ranging and include Jewish Studies, art therapy, Holocaust education, and social work with migrants. She loves music, history, arts, food, and travel … especially new details and hidden places. When not guiding tours, Orsi is into photography, especially photographing interesting pieces of street art (which she consider part of urban culture). She plays water polo, and really likes food experiments such as making raw cakes, balcony gardening, and cheese-making.

Must Do
Római Part

Local Secret
Coffee in the secret garden of Massolit Café

Favorite Eat
Stuffed cabbage

Best Drink
Homemade elderflower syrup with lemon

Szabolcs

Culinary Ambassador

Szabi was born in a Hungarian region of the former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. After he finished university in Hungary, he moved to England and lived in London for seven years. Szabi attended the International Butler Academy in The Netherlands, and then spent four years working as a butler for VIP guests at one if the most prestigious hotels in London. He worked at the 2012 London Olympics as a butler and restaurant manager. Szabi returned to Hungary in 2014 and has been working as a local guide since then.

Must Do
Evening Danube cruise

Local Secret
Hanging out at the markets

Favorite Eat
Pomo d’Oro restaurant

Best Drink
A decent pálinka

Dániel

Culinary Ambassador

Dániel was born and raised in the Kőbánya neighborhood, the industrial eastern section of Budapest. He comes from a family of first generation intellectuals, with roots leading back to both the Great Hungarian Plain and the sunny southern part of the country — two regions which contributed to his taste in food. He studied architecture, mainly focusing on historical buildings and the urban landscape surrounding them (winding streets, busy squares, old houses, and hidden gems). He still loves to roam these streets day and night. Dániel enjoys old poetry and new trends, geeky culture and craft beer, but mostly the combination of these. He learned how to cook from a teenage love, and ever since he is keen to try new recipes, host dinners for his friends, and learn the cultural, historical, and human background of food and drinks.

Must Do
The old Jewish district, Palace district, and Museum garden

Local Secret
Follow the students, not the generic tourist routes

Favorite Eat
Pörkölt, flódni and tojásos nokedli

Best Drink
Good quality pálinka

Endre

Culinary Ambassador

Endre was born and raised in Budapest, more specifically on the Buda side—which he prefers over faster-paced Pest. He has always known he would be a tour guide, which led him study at the Budapest Business School in the department of Catering and Hotel Management. For the past seven years he has worked as a tour guide in Budapest, learning as much about people from all over the world as they learned from him. Endre also loves to cook, eat, and try new foods and has spent time as an intern and pastry chef at one of Budapest’s most renowned pastry shops. Since these baking days, he has become an automatic critic of cakes whenever he tries them (and naturally, he knows the best places in town to eat sweets). Endre is Jewish on his mother’s side (though they are not religious), and loves the family’s matzo ball soup and sólet. He bakes flódni, but is practically a professional when it comes to baking Christmas beiglis (he prepared 300 and sold them all one year). Endre mainly guides our Jewish Cuisine & Culinary Walk and is currently learning Hebrew in his spare time, and is training to become an official guide at the Great Synagogue.

Must Do
Thermal bath houses

Local Secret
Go on a caving tour

Favorite Eat
Ribs at the butcher shop near the Opera

Best Drink
Quince pálinka

Tibor

Driver

Tibor lives in Budapest with his wife and kids, but Tokaj is his home region, and is where the rest of his family still lives. Growing up in Tokaj he learned lots about winemaking, particularly from his uncle, who is a winemaker. Despite his passion for Tokaj wine, Tibi—our driver extraordinaire—is the only one on the Taste Hungary team who you will never see drinking a glass of wine since he’s always behind the wheel. When he’s not driving guests on our wine tours, Tibi loves travel and biking.

Must Do
Sunrise from the Halászbástya

Local Secret
Zebegény and Vác

Favorite Eat
Túró Rudi

Best Drink
Tokaji aszú, of course

Sue

Wine Ambassador & Writer

A long-time Budapest resident, Sue spends her time writing, translating, and telling people about wine. Her degree in French and Italian imbued her with wanderlust and itchy feet sent her off to live in Hungary, Poland, Italy and Germany, and then brought her back to Budapest. Friday afternoon wine classes at Bordeaux University are perhaps responsible for her transformation into a wine lover.  She holds the WSET diploma and is a Wein Akademiker, Vinitaly Italian Wine Expert and committee member for the Circle of Wine Writers. She judges at Hungarian and international wine competitions, including International Wine Challenge and Berliner Wine Trophy as well as being Panel Chair at Vinitaly’s 5StarWines. While not writing for winesofa.eu, where she is Managing Editor, translating or editing articles and books, or holding tastings at the Tasting Table, she can often be found nosing around vineyards and wine cellars or swimming at Széchenyi or Lukács thermal baths.

Read Sue’s Blog Posts

Must Do
Relax in one of Budapest’s historic spas

Local Secret
Cheese stall at Hunyadi tér market

Favorite Eat
Ripe, fresh tomatoes in summer

Best Drink
Wine, of course!

Lilla

Culinary Ambassador

Lilla grew up in a small town in the countryside which is most famous for its fish soup (halászlé). Lilla moved to Budapest to study languages and tourism and has been living here for more than ten years. She has also spent time living in Italy and France, which she credits to making her more open-minded and always eager to discover new countries and new cultures. She sees food and gastronomy as one of the best ways to learn about a country, and she’s also a big fan of extreme sports … always up for adventures! Lilla is also passionate about good food, cooking, and visiting with local producers at farmers markets. Ever since she decided to take a break from sightseeing during a trip to Thailand, and instead attended a cooking class, Lilla has been a big supporter of culinary tourism. She loves sharing this great part of Hungarian culture with travelers, helping them enjoy our city and food like locals do.

Must Do
Rudas Spa, followed by the Ruin Bars

Local Secret
Caving in the Buda hills

Favorite Eat
Rakott krumpli (layered potatoes) at Stand25

Best Drink
Apricot pálinka (especially made by my father)

Sarolta

Culinary Ambassador

Sarolta grew up in a small town, and then spent five years in Denmark for university. After moving back to Budapest and interning for a travel agency, she fell in love with tourism and began working as a guide. She has worked in Turkey and Thailand, as well as closer to home in Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, and all over Hungary. Sarolta loves life on Budapest—the street life,  architecture, local markets, and the fact that there is always something to do here!

Must Do
Evening Danube cruise, and a late night walk in the Buda Castle

Local Secret
A nice evening next to the Danube, out of the city center

Favorite Eat
Definitely my own cooking … and lángos

Best Drink
A good, cold, homemade Pálinka